Continents, Oceans and Countries of the World

Look at a globe and turn it slowly. New places appear as others disappear around the side. A globe is a round model of Earth. It keeps the shapes and sizes of places correct compared with each other.

More water than land

Water covers about 71 out of every 100 parts of Earth's surface. Land covers about 29. That is nearly three quarters water. We spend our days on land, so the amount of water can surprise us.

Imagine choosing spots from all over Earth without looking. Over many tries, about seven in ten would land on water. A few tries might look different. You need many spots spread over the whole globe to see the pattern.

Blue usually means water on a globe. Land may be green, brown, yellow or several different colors. White often shows thick ice. Check the key, which explains the colors. A green country on one map might be pink on another.

Land comes in different pieces

A continent is one of Earth's very large areas of land. We name seven continents. Some touch each other; others have ocean between them.

An island has water all around it. Madagascar and Iceland are islands. Greenland is the world's largest island. Australia is larger, but it counts as a continent.

Follow the water

Most lakes and rivers hold fresh water, which is not salty. Some lakes are salty, so salt alone cannot tell you which kind of water you found. More than 96 out of every 100 drops of Earth's water are salty ocean water.

Try tracing a river on a map. Follow it toward a lake or the sea. Now trace a coastline, where land meets the ocean. These lines show different things: one follows flowing water; the other follows the edge of land.

All five oceans join together. Their names help us talk about different parts of one world ocean. A ship can travel from one ocean into another without crossing land.

A world map spreads Earth across a flat page or screen. You can see all the continents together. Before finding a place, take a moment to read the map's helpers.

Start with the title, key and labels

The title tells you what the map shows. A map of mountain heights has a different job from a map of countries.

The key, or legend, explains colors and symbols. A star might mark a capital city. A small dot might mark another city. Read the key before deciding what a mark means.

Labels give places their names. A long ocean name can stretch across a large blue space. A city's name usually sits beside a small mark on land.

Check the directions

The compass rose shows north, east, south and west. On most world maps, north is at the top. Then east is right, south is down the page, and west is left.

North means toward the North Pole along Earth's surface. It does not mean up into the sky. Put a map flat on a table: north now points across the paper. A map with south at the top still shows the same world. Use its compass rose to find the directions.

Choose the right kind of map

Suppose you want to find a mountain range in Asia. Start with a physical map and read its key for height colors. To find the countries around that range, use a political map.

The world continues past the page

On many world maps, the Pacific appears at both edges. Those blue spaces are parts of the same ocean. The left and right edges join when you imagine wrapping the map around Earth. The top and bottom edges do not join this way.

Try a finger journey from western North America toward Asia. Move west across the Pacific. If your finger reaches the left edge, continue from the right edge. Keep going across the same ocean until you reach Asia.

A different map may put the Pacific in the middle. This makes the journey easier to see. The places have stayed where they are; the map maker has chosen a different place to cut the world open.

A continent is a very large land area. Nearby islands belong to continents too. Japan belongs to Asia, Madagascar to Africa, and Greenland to North America.

Learn the seven names

Here are the continents from biggest to smallest:

1. Asia
2. Africa
3. North America
4. South America
5. Antarctica
6. Europe
7. Australia/Oceania

Asia is the biggest. Australia/Oceania is the smallest. Antarctica is larger than Europe, even though many people picture Europe first.

To remember the names, start with four A names: Africa, Antarctica, Asia and Australia. Add North America and South America. Europe is the seventh.

Australia and Oceania

The word Australia can name a country or a continent. Oceania includes Australia, New Zealand and thousands of Pacific islands. Fiji and Samoa are two island countries there. Here, the continent's label is Australia/Oceania. When you read Australia on its own, it means the country.

Continents and countries

Most continents contain many countries. A country has its own government and borders. Africa is a continent with 54 countries. Brazil is one country in South America. Antarctica has no countries.

Size alone does not tell you whether a place is a country. Russia is a country, and it is larger than Antarctica. Look at what the name describes: a land grouping or a place with its own government.

The two ends of the globe

Antarctica is land covered by thick ice around the South Pole. The Arctic is a region around the North Pole. It includes the Arctic Ocean and the northern edges of nearby continents. The North Pole itself is in the ocean.

Why some lists have fewer names

Some schools group North and South America as one continent, America. That gives six continents. Some people group Europe and Asia as Eurasia. The five Olympic rings stand for five inhabited continents, with America grouped together and Antarctica left out.

These ways of counting group the same land differently. US schools usually teach the seven names listed above.

You can find a continent by looking at what lies beside it. Oceans, the poles and other continents give you clues. Use a globe or a world map with north at the top.

Start at the south, then find the Americas

Find Antarctica around the South Pole. The Southern Ocean surrounds it. On many flat maps, Antarctica looks like a long strip along the bottom. On a globe, its land wraps around the pole.

Find North America between the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Atlantic on the east. The Arctic Ocean is to its north. Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean islands belong to North America.

South America lies southeast of North America. It is wide in the north and narrow in the south. Its west coast meets the Pacific; its east coast meets the Atlantic. A thin land link joins the Americas. Their dividing line is usually placed between Panama and Colombia.

Cross the Atlantic

Across the Atlantic from the Americas, find Europe and Africa. Europe lies north of Africa, across the Mediterranean Sea. Europe has the Atlantic to its west and the Arctic Ocean to its north.

Africa has the Atlantic to its west and the Indian Ocean to its east. The equator crosses its middle. Africa joins Asia through Egypt. The dividing line is usually drawn along the Suez Canal.

Continue east and southeast

Asia lies east of Europe. The two continents share a huge connected land area. Their dividing line follows features including the Ural Mountains, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Asia has the Arctic Ocean to its north, the Pacific to its east and the Indian Ocean to its south.

Australia/Oceania lies southeast of Asia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Australia is its biggest piece of land. New Zealand is southeast of Australia. Many smaller islands spread across the Pacific.

Put the clues together

Try this: "Find the continent south of Europe, with the Indian Ocean to its east."

First, look south of Europe across the Mediterranean. You reach Africa. Then check the eastern coast: the Indian Ocean is there. Both clues fit Africa.

Do not decide from page position alone. A map can put a different ocean in the middle. The ocean and continent neighbors stay the same.

Names are easier to remember when you can picture real places. Find each continent, then link it to a landscape or landmark. A landmark is a place or feature people recognize.

Asia and Africa

Asia has more than half the world's people. China, India and Japan are countries there. Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain, stands on the border between Nepal and China. The Great Wall of China is another famous Asian landmark.

Africa has 54 countries, more than any other continent in this count. The Sahara is the world's biggest hot desert. It stretches across northern Africa. The Nile is one of the world's two longest rivers. Find Egypt in the northeast to locate the pyramids of Giza.

North and South America

North America holds Canada, the United States and Mexico, along with many other countries. The Great Lakes are five large freshwater lakes. Four lie along the Canada–United States border. The Grand Canyon is a famous natural wonder in the United States.

South America has 12 countries. Brazil, the biggest, holds much of the Amazon rainforest. This is Earth's largest rainforest. The Amazon River carries more water than any other river. The Andes Mountains run along the continent's western side.

Europe and Australia/Oceania

Europe has many countries close together. The Alps are a well-known mountain range. In France, you can find the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Great Barrier Reef lies off Australia's northeast coast. It is the world's largest coral reef system. Oceania's Pacific islands are often grouped into Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Fiji is in Melanesia, Palau in Micronesia, and Samoa in Polynesia. New Zealand and Hawaii are usually grouped with Polynesia too.

Antarctica

Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest continent. Ice covers almost all its land. Scientists and their helpers stay in research stations, then go home. The Antarctic Treaty sets Antarctica aside for peace and science. Emperor penguins raise their chicks there.

Polar bears live in the Arctic, far to the north. Wild penguins live almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. Picture a polar bear by the Arctic Ocean and emperor penguins by Antarctica to keep the two regions apart.

Find your own continent now. Choose one landmark or landscape there and say its name with the continent.

Follow the blue water around a globe. It continues from one named ocean into another. People name five parts of this connected water so we can describe places and journeys.

Learn the order of size

From biggest to smallest, the oceans are Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic. The sentence "Penguins And Iguanas Swim Around" gives their first letters in that order.

The Pacific Ocean lies between Asia and Australia on one side and the Americas on the other. It is the biggest and deepest ocean. It is larger than all Earth's land put together. Its Mariana Trench reaches about 36,000 feet, almost 11 kilometers, deep. Mount Everest could fit inside with more than a mile of water above it.

The Atlantic Ocean lies between the Americas and Europe and Africa. It is second in size. Trace a direct crossing from eastern North America to western Europe. Your finger passes over the Atlantic.

The Indian Ocean is third in size. Africa is on its west, Asia on its north, and Australia on its east. Its name comes from India.

Find the cold oceans

The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica. Its northern edge is usually drawn at 60 degrees south. This line lies a little south of South America's southern tip. The Southern Ocean is fourth in size.

The Arctic Ocean surrounds the North Pole. Northern North America, Europe and Asia lie around it. It is the smallest and shallowest ocean. Much of it has floating sea ice, especially in winter.

Why an old book might show four

Older maps often divide the water around Antarctica among the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Newer five-ocean maps name it the Southern Ocean. National Geographic recognized that fifth name in 2021. The water did not appear that year; the name tells you how the map groups it.

Find an ocean from its shores

Suppose you find ocean water with Africa on one side and Australia on the other. Look north and check for Asia. These shores identify the Indian Ocean.

For the Pacific, look across both edges of a world map if needed. Two printed pieces do not mean two oceans. On a globe, turn from Japan across the water toward North America to see how those pieces join.

A small blue space can be part of an ocean or water surrounded by land. Its name gives a clue, but its shape and connection tell you more.

Look at how the water meets the land

The Mediterranean Sea lies between Europe, Africa and Asia. The Strait of Gibraltar connects it openly to the Atlantic. The Caribbean Sea and North Sea are also parts of the Atlantic.

The Arabian Sea belongs to the Indian Ocean. The South China Sea belongs to the Pacific. The Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand, belongs to the Pacific too.

Follow a passage

The Bering Strait separates Asia and North America. It is only about 50 miles, or 80 kilometers, wide. The English Channel lies between England and France. Both are water passages, even though people give them different kinds of names.

A gulf or bay has ocean water reaching into the land. Hudson Bay reaches deep into Canada. The Gulf of Mexico has the United States, Mexico and Cuba around much of it.

Work out what you found

Imagine a blue area with land around it and a river leaving one end. It is a lake. The river may carry its water toward the ocean, but that does not turn the lake into a sea.

Now imagine salty ocean water entering a partly enclosed area through a wide water opening. That area is an open part of the ocean. It may be a sea, gulf or bay.

A sea name can hide a lake

Most lakes hold fresh water, but some hold salt water. The Caspian Sea has land all around and is the world's largest lake. The Dead Sea is also a salty lake.

So ask about the water's setting before trusting its name. "Sea" in a name is not enough. A lake can also have a river connection to other waters; the Great Lakes reach the Atlantic through the St. Lawrence River.

A spinning globe can help you find Earth's poles. Imagine a line running through the middle of the ball. Earth spins around this line, called its axis. The two places where it meets the surface are the poles.

Two poles, different settings

The North Pole is Earth's farthest-north point. It is in the Arctic Ocean. Sea ice floats there; there is no continent underneath it.

The South Pole is Earth's farthest-south point. It sits on Antarctica, a continent. Thick ice covers the land. At the South Pole, that ice is nearly 9,000 feet, about 2,700 meters, deep. Scientists work at a research station there.

Find the equator

The equator circles Earth's middle, halfway between the poles. It is about 25,000 miles, or 40,000 kilometers, long. Map makers draw it to help us locate places. It is imaginary: no painted line circles the ground.

On a globe, follow the equator with your finger. It crosses South America, Africa and islands of Indonesia in Asia. It also crosses the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. It does not cross Europe, North America, Antarctica or the country of Australia.

You may see the label 0° beside the equator. This is the starting line for measuring how far north or south a place is. Ecuador, a country in South America, gets its name from the Spanish word for equator.

Warm middle, cold ends

Near the equator, sunlight arrives high in the sky all year. Most low places there stay warm or hot. Toward the poles, sunlight arrives at a low slant. It spreads across more ground, so those places get less warming.

Height matters too. A tall mountain near the equator can have ice near its top. Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa is one example.

Try a north-to-south journey

Start your finger at the North Pole. Move south toward Africa, keeping away from the globe's side-to-side turn. Cross the equator in Africa and continue toward Antarctica. You have traveled from the northern end, through Earth's middle, toward the southern end.

A hemisphere is half a ball. Earth has a north–south pair of hemispheres and an east–west pair. You can use both pairs to describe where a place is.

First ask: north or south?

Find the equator. The Northern Hemisphere is north of it. The Southern Hemisphere is south of it. The North Pole belongs to the northern half; the South Pole belongs to the southern half.

Europe and North America lie in the Northern Hemisphere. Antarctica and the country of Australia lie in the Southern Hemisphere. The equator crosses Africa and South America, so each has land in both halves.

Then ask: east or west?

Find the prime meridian. This imaginary line runs from pole to pole through Greenwich in London, England. A second line, the 180° line, runs from pole to pole on the other side of Earth. Together they divide Earth into Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Starting at the prime meridian, the eastern half reaches east to the 180° line. The western half reaches west to that line. A world map's middle is not always the prime meridian, so look for the labeled line.

Work through two questions

Take Japan as an example:

1. Find Japan north of the equator. It is in the Northern Hemisphere.
2. Find Japan east of the prime meridian, before the 180° line. It is in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Now try Australia. It is south of the equator and east of the prime meridian. It is in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres. Canada and Ireland are in the Northern and Western Hemispheres.

A country can cross a dividing line

Brazil and Kenya cross the equator. Part of each country is northern and part is southern. The prime meridian crosses the United Kingdom, so it has land in both the eastern and western halves. A spot right on a dividing line lies on the boundary between the halves.

Most of Earth's land and people are in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere has more ocean. The halves also have opposite seasons: December brings summer to Australia and New Zealand while it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

People in the southern half are not upside down. Wherever you stand, down points toward Earth's center.

A country is a place with its own government, borders and people. Its government makes laws. A country also has a name and a flag. Many countries have their own money and more than one language.

Read the borders

A border marks where one country ends and another begins. Political maps draw borders as lines. You may not see a line on the ground. Some borders have fences, posts or signs.

Some follow natural features. Part of the United States–Mexico border follows the Rio Grande. The Pyrenees mountains lie along the France–Spain border. Other borders follow straight lines chosen by people.

Different kinds of place

An island describes a land shape. A country describes how a place is governed. Madagascar can be both. Greenland is an island in North America, but it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Some countries have no coast. They are landlocked. Switzerland, Bolivia and Mongolia are examples. Russia and Turkey stretch across Europe and Asia. Egypt is mostly in Africa, with a smaller part in Asia.

How many countries?

The United Nations has 193 member countries. Lists often count about 195 countries by also including Vatican City and the State of Palestine. The Holy See, which governs Vatican City, and Palestine take part in the UN as observers.

Using the common count, Africa has 54 countries, North America 23, South America 12 and Australia/Oceania 14. Europe and Asia have dozens each. Some countries cross their dividing line, which affects the totals on different lists. Antarctica has no countries.

Big land, many people

Russia is the largest country by land area. Canada comes next. Vatican City, inside Rome in Italy, is the smallest. India has the most people, followed by China. Land size and number of people are different ways to compare countries.

Try sorting a new pair: Japan and Tokyo. Japan is a country made of islands. Tokyo is a city in Japan. Neither name is the name of a continent.

Your home belongs to places of different sizes. You can move from a small place you know to a much bigger one. Think of boxes fitting inside bigger boxes.

Build your place list

Start with your home. Then add your street, town or city, and country. You may also live in a state, province or region. Your country belongs to a continent, and every continent is on Earth.

A child in Sacramento could say:

"I live in Sacramento, in California, in the United States, in North America, on Earth."

A child in Melbourne could say:

"I live in Melbourne, in Victoria, in Australia, in Australia/Oceania, on Earth."

California is a state and Victoria is a state. They fit between the city and the country in these lists. A city or state is not the same as a whole country.

Find your country step by step

1. Find your continent on a globe or world map.
2. Look for the oceans or seas beside your country.
3. Read the country label on a political map. Notice its shape and borders.
4. Point to it, then find it again after turning the globe.

Use the same steps for another country. To find Canada, start with North America. Find the Arctic Ocean at the north of the continent. Then read Canada's label and follow its outline between the oceans.

Look for every part

Some countries have pieces far apart. The United States has 48 joined states between Canada and Mexico. Alaska is farther northwest, and Hawaii is far out in the Pacific. Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines include many islands.

A world map has room for a country's outline and some city dots. It cannot show your house or street clearly. Use a map of your own area for those small details.

Say where your country is

Build a sentence with its name, continent and nearby water. You can add hemispheres once you have checked the equator and prime meridian. For example: "Australia is in Australia/Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres."

Your country may appear near the center of a map made there. A map made elsewhere may put another place in the center. Earth's round surface has no special middle place. Find your country by its neighbors and water, wherever the map maker puts it.

A neighboring country can share your country's land border. It can also lie nearby across water. Island countries have neighbors even when no land joins them.

Start with the country you are in

Direction always has a starting place. Canada is north of the main joined part of the United States. From Canada, that same part of the United States is south. Moving the starting point changes the direction you say.

Use two fingers on a map. Keep one on your starting country. Put the other on the place you want to describe. Check the compass rose.

With north at the top:

• Higher on the page means north.
• Lower means south.
• Right means east.
• Left means west.

For a place both higher and to the right, say northeast. The other in-between directions are southeast, southwest and northwest.

Neighbors across land and water

From the main joined United States, Canada is north and Mexico is south. From Florida, Cuba is south across water. The Bahamas are east and southeast of Florida. Far away in Alaska, Russia lies west across the Bering Strait.

Australia has no land border with another country. Papua New Guinea lies north across water. Indonesia lies north and northwest. Timor-Leste is northwest. The Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are northeast. Fiji is east and northeast, and New Zealand is southeast.

From New Zealand, Australia lies west and northwest across the Tasman Sea. Fiji lies north, while Tonga and Samoa lie northeast.

Ireland has Great Britain to its east across the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, shares Ireland's land border. From the United Kingdom, France lies south and southeast across the English Channel.

Work out a return direction

Suppose a friend in New Zealand asks where Australia is. Start at New Zealand and trace toward Australia. You move west and north, so say "west and northwest." Starting in Australia gives the reverse view: New Zealand is southeast.

Watch the map's edges

Japan and the United States may be on opposite edges of a flat map. Turn a globe to see the Pacific between them. A trip from the western United States toward Japan goes west across the Pacific. Do not trace all the way across Europe just because the page has an edge.

A capital city is a country's chosen home for its national government. In most countries, the leaders and lawmakers work there. Many maps mark capitals with a star or a star inside a circle. Always check the key.

Learn a few at a time

Link each capital to its country and continent. Say, "Ottawa, Canada, North America." Find all three on your map. Then add another nearby country.

The table gives you a starter collection. Begin with your own country, then its neighbors. Cover the capital column and try recalling one small group.

Famous does not always mean capital

Sydney is a famous Australian city, but Canberra is Australia's capital. Toronto is Canada's largest city, but Ottawa is its national capital. New York City is not the US capital. Washington, D.C., is.

Brazil's capital is Brasília, not Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo. Turkey's capital is Ankara, not Istanbul. New Zealand's capital is Wellington, not Auckland. A city's fame or size does not choose its job.

Washington, D.C., Canberra and Brasília were planned to serve as capitals. Washington, D.C., is a special district, not part of a state. Some capitals share their country's name, such as Mexico City, Panama City and Guatemala City.

Check which government you mean

States and provinces have capitals too. Sacramento is California's state capital. Washington, D.C., is the national capital. Toronto is Ontario's provincial capital, while Ottawa is the capital of Canada.

Some countries arrange things differently. South Africa has three capitals: Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein. The Netherlands has Amsterdam as its capital, while its government works in The Hague.

Try finding Canberra on an Australia map. It is in the southeast, about 150 miles, or 250 kilometers, southwest of Sydney. Use the capital symbol to check that you found the right city.

A globe is round like Earth. A flat map fits in a book or on a screen. Making Earth's curved surface fit a flat page changes how some things look.

Imagine flattening an orange peel

Think of an orange's peel as a surface around a ball. You cannot press the whole peel flat without tearing or squashing it. A map maker faces a similar problem with Earth's curved surface.

A map projection is a way of drawing that round surface flat. Every world map changes something: sizes, shapes or distances. The map maker chooses which features to keep most useful.

Mercator stretches places near the poles

Gerardus Mercator made his projection in 1569 for sailors. On it, a straight line keeps the same compass direction. That helped ships follow a course.

But Mercator maps make places farther from the equator look much too big. Greenland can look about the size of Africa. In fact, Africa is about 14 times as large. Antarctica stretches into a huge strip at the bottom. Russia can look bigger than Africa too, even though Africa is much larger.

The stretching gets stronger toward the poles. Sizes near the equator are much closer to their true comparison. A big-looking place near the top of this map may have been stretched a great deal.

Different maps choose different things to keep

The Gall-Peters projection is an equal-area map. Africa and South America look long and thin, but their sizes compare correctly. The Winkel tripel projection shares the changes across several features. National Geographic has used it for world maps since 1998.

Choose a map for your question

Suppose you want to compare Africa and Greenland. Find them on a globe or equal-area map. Africa covers about 11.7 million square miles. Greenland covers about 836,000 square miles. This makes Africa about 14 times bigger.

A political map still helps you find borders and capitals. For a size comparison, check how the map was made before trusting the outlines.

You can join your map skills into a whole-world journey. Choose a starting place and travel mostly east or mostly west. List the continents and water you pass in order, then check that your route returns home.

Build one route in pieces

Start in Washington, D.C., in North America, and head east.

1. Cross the Atlantic Ocean to London in Europe.
2. Travel southeast across the Mediterranean Sea to Cairo, Egypt, in Africa.
3. Head east over the Arabian Sea, part of the Indian Ocean, to Mumbai, India, in Asia.
4. Travel southeast across the Indian Ocean to Perth in Australia/Oceania.
5. Cross the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles in North America. Travel east across the United States to return home.

Trace each leg on a globe. Stop at each coast and name the water before moving on.

Check what your route visits

This trip visits five continents: North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia/Oceania. It crosses three named oceans: Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. The Mediterranean is a sea within the Atlantic system, not an extra ocean.

The trip misses South America and Antarctica. It crosses the equator twice: heading south between Mumbai and Perth, then heading north over the Pacific. A trip around Earth does not have to visit every continent.

The route changes the water you cross

A direct trip from eastern North America to western Europe crosses the Atlantic. You could instead head west across the Pacific to Asia, then travel over land to Europe. Europe and Asia join. Africa and Asia also join through Egypt.

A globe shows why a shortest route may curve on a flat map. Lay a string between two cities on a globe. Pull it gently tight along the surface. Some routes from North America to Asia pass far north near Alaska.

Journeys and stories

An expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan left Spain in 1519. Magellan died during the voyage. Juan Sebastián Elcano brought the last ship home in 1522, completing the first voyage around the world. Jules Verne later wrote the story Around the World in Eighty Days, in which Phileas Fogg travels east from London.

Find a place you hear about

When a place comes up in the news, find its country first. Next name the continent and nearby ocean or sea. Try a sentence such as, "Kenya is a country in Africa beside the Indian Ocean." Add the equator when it helps locate the place.